


Bullies

by orphan_account



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Bullying, Crush, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pining, Protective Michael, Violence, boyf riends - Freeform, gay slurs, jeremy pees his pants?, listen guys I have no clue how to tag this because I’ve never used ao3 before, post squip, self deprecation, the end is tooth rotting fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-31 08:17:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13971036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Jeremy got bullied. More than he'd like to admit. He was lucky to be off the radar most days, but high school was merciless, and sometimes he was just the best target. There were many instances that included him being shoved into lockers, cornered by the showers, or even just tripped in the cafeteria. Today was just one of those days. As if his Friday hasn't been shitty enough already, what with him failing his chem test and Jenna telling half the school about his crush on Michael. (He was friends with Jenna, but he was pretty upset about it) He was now being followed, and he could tell. Two boys, seniors, muscly, who had tormented Heere a couple of times before, were waiting to get him alone. Yeah, it'd happened before, but it didn't make it any less shitty. (In other words, Jeremy gets beat up and Michael saves the day. Sort of.)





	Bullies

  
Jeremy got bullied. More than he'd like to admit. He was lucky to be off the radar most days, but high school was merciless, and sometimes he was just the best target. There were many instances that included him being shoved into lockers, cornered by the showers, or even just tripped in the cafeteria. Today was just one of those days. As if his Friday hasn't been shitty enough already, what with him failing his chem test and Jenna telling half the school about his crush on Michael. (He was friends with Jenna, but he was pretty upset about it)

He was now being followed, and he could tell. Two boys, seniors, muscly, who had tormented Heere a couple of times before, were waiting to get him alone. Yeah, it'd happened before, but it didn't make it any less shitty. And this was the first time since the SQUIP. Ironically, Jeremy had gained friends and popularity once he rid himself of that awful computer.

But he felt pretty fucking alone right now, even in the middle of a crowded hallway. He considered stopping at his locker, but they might shove him in there. He looked around, trying to catch the eye of one of his friends, but they weren't there. He started to sweat and he knew his face was turning red.

They were right on his tail now, bumping into him, and he had to think fast. So, he ducked into the boy's bathroom. Fatal mistake. As he reached frantically for a stall door, a hand caught his own, wrapping firmly around his wrist. He didn't look up, instead he gulped as he heard the bathroom door shut. _Great. You've got yourself cornered. Nice work dumbass,_ He thought. He was scared. He hoped the boy grabbing him by the arm right now couldn't feel his pulse.

"So. You're the little fag that turned my brother gay." A voice growled in his ear, making him shudder. "Wh-what are you talking about?" He squeaked out, cursing himself internally for how high his voice sounded. He felt his backpack being yanked off and heard as it hit the wall behind him. "You know. Rich is a fag now. It's your fault." _Oh._ So this was Rich's asshole older brother he'd been told about. He was significantly taller than Rich. "I didn't-" he shook his head, "I didn't turn him bi." He mumbled, staring intently at the floor. Rich's brother had hold of both of his arms now, while the other senior was leaning with his back to the doorway. Shit.

"Well someone fucking did, and you've been hanging out with him ever since he started.... _acting gay._ " There was a sickening twist in the boy's tone when he said that. Jeremy had a lot of things he wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut because he wanted to get out of this alive. His breath was knocked out of him as he was suddenly shoved against the painted brick wall, his hands pinned behind his back. He let out an embarrassing squeak.

"What'd you do to him? Why's he a fag now? What'd you do to my brother, you freak?" Rich's brother was still growling in his ear. Jeremy was fuming and terrified at the same time. "Y'know you might as well answer, we're gonna beat the shit outta you either way." His friend said from across the room, a hint of a chuckle in his voice. With that, Jeremy snapped. He ripped his hands from the grasp that was holding him against the wall and whipped around. "I didn't do anything, alright? There's nothing wrong with him! He was just born-"

_bam_. Jeremy was thrown back against the wall as a punch hit him square in the jaw. _Ow, fuck, shit-_ suddenly he was on the ground and they were both kicking him, in the ribs and legs and head- it was all so much and everything hurt. "Fucking fag. You know, I heard a rumor today." He kept his hands thrown up to protect his face, and his knees into his chest.

"Yeah?" His friend asked, out of breath, throwing another kick at his stomach. _Fuck_. "I heard that this one-" he reached down and grabbed the back of Jeremy's striped t shirt, tugging him off of the ground. His head spun and everything hurt _so bad._ "This one's got a gay ass _crush_ on his own best friend." Jeremy winced at that, his eyes widening. How many people knew? He was knocked out of his thoughts by another punch across the face. His ears rang. "He does?" The friend said, laughing.

"It's that kid with the red hoodie and the glasses. Remember him?" Jeremy did everything he could not to cry. "Th- that's not true!" He shouted, finding his voice again and struggling against the strong arm holding him up. It dropped him and he crumpled to the ground, feeling pathetic. He couldn't even fight back.

They kicked again, relentlessly. It hurt like hell and he was vaguely aware that they were still speaking, but the ringing in his ears was too loud. He heard the door bang open. He shut his eyes and curled up, just praying for it to end.

Suddenly, it did.

He opened his eyes cautiously, waiting for another foot to his face, but someone was standing between him and those awful seniors. He looked up, propping himself on his elbow even though it made him dizzy. Suddenly he could hear again and he knew who it was. "Michael-" he called out weakly, sitting all the way up now. He barely noticed the blood dripping down his face. Michael didn't hear him.

"This is none of your business, loser. Get out of the way."  
"Uh, he's my best friend, of course it's my business. Now fuck off. You've done enough." Michael sounded different- intimidating and demanding. And in his clouded state all Jeremy could think was _hot_. He was standing tall, his hands clenched in fists and his voice determined.

"Y'know why we're fucking beating him? Because he turned my brother into a fag. And he's a fag, too. Y'know he's got a big, disgusting-"  
Jeremy panicked, they couldn't tell Michael.

"STOP!" He shouted, his voice strained and cracking, causing Micheal to turn to him for the first time.

"Shut the fuck up." Rich's brother growled at him, and he snapped his mouth shut. _No,_ He thought. But he couldn't do anything now. The tall boy continued.  
"He's got a fucking _crush_ on you. Isn't that just disgusting? He's pathetic."

Michael was silent for a moment and Jeremy started to cry, hiding his face. _No no no no no-_  
"just fuck off already." Michael said, voice quiet but venomous. "Alright. We'll go. Only because we've got a party to be at, and the fag looks like he's gonna piss himself again. You're lucky you're little _boyfriend_ showed up, freak."

Jeremy was surprised to hear this and then the door closing as they left. He still couldn't believe they had given up so easily. He also noticed that he in fact _had_ peed himself, so that was fucking mortifying. _Pathetic_. As soon as the door slammed shut, Michael’s angry persona evaporated instantly and he dropped to his knees by Jeremy's head. "Jere, oh my god. I'm so sorry." He said, his voice shaking. Jeremy was slipping in and out of consciousness, and Michael looked a little blurry. He tried to mumble something but Michael shushed him, working quickly to lift him off the ground and grab his backpack.

School had been over for about half an hour so the hallway was empty and dead quiet as Michael carried Jeremy to his car. He could barely stand, let alone walk after all that, so he didn't have much of a choice. Once they had crossed the sunny, nearly empty parking lot Michael placed him gently in his backseat before speeding home. Jeremy vaguely registered that Michael was crying from the driver's seat.

When they finally arrived at Michael's house, his parents weren't home. He carried Jeremy upstairs to his sit on his bed, disappearing for a few minutes before returning with some bottles and bandages. And ice. Jeremy winced as he cleaned the cuts and bruises that littered his body. "Sorry, buddy." Michael mumbled, reaching for a wet rag to wipe the drying blood from his nose. Jeremy's vision was coming back into focus, and the memories of the afternoon came flooding back as well, far too clearly. It was too much. _No no no no no-_

He started to cry again, and it was just seconds before he was sobbing hard. Michael noticed, tossing his rag aside to wrap his best friend in a hug. This only made Jeremy cry harder, and the shorter boy hushed him, rubbing his back, being careful not to touch the bruises. "I'll kill them." Michael muttered under his breath, squeezing tighter. Jeremy sobbed into his warm red hoodie, taking shaky breaths as he tried to calm himself down. This was so embarrassing. His tears eventually slowed to a sniffle and Michael pulled away, sighing. He wiped the tear streaks gingerly from Jeremy's cheeks, staring into his swollen eyes for just a moment before he got back to work, bandaging a particularly bad cut on his leg.

After a few minutes of quiet, Michael started to mumble again. "Jere, 'm gonna have to take your shirt off to check for more cuts. That okay?" The two were best friends, and had seen each other shirtless a million times, but Michael was still sweet enough to ask. Jeremy nodded weakly, lifting his arms with another wince (he was really sore) as Michael tugged the shirt over his head. He couldn't help but feel sparks wherever Michael’s fingers barley brushed his skin. _Wow, Get it together, dumbass._ He watched as Michael's eyes swept his chest and then his back, suddenly feeling self conscious. There weren't any cuts on his stomach, just a lot of bruises. There was a large scrape on his back, however, from where he had slid down the wall. Michael got to work cleaning it, biting his lip in focus.

The next part was the most embarrassing of all. Both Michael and him had forgotten about the fact that he had peed himself. When Michael returned to face him, he glanced at the wet spot in his lap and Jeremy threw his hands over his face, mortified. He felt like he might cry all over again. "It's ok, it's ok." Michael said, as reassuringly as he could, before picking up the abandoned wet rag again. "We're gonna get you all cleaned up and everything is gonna be fine." He whispered, halfway to himself, and Jeremy nodded, sniffling. There was an awkward pause before Michael said "I am gonna need you to take your shorts off, though." Jeremy nodded slowly again before standing up and tugging his own shorts down with shaking hands. He was standing, shivering, in just his fucking pac-man boxers. Michael took the wet rag and crouched in front of Jeremy with a determined face. Normally, Jeremy would just do this himself, but seeing as he was in so much pain he couldn't get his own shirt off, there wasn't much he could do. Michael took a deep breath before pressing the rag to Jere's thigh, wiping everything away and examining the other bruises.

"G-god. I'm so sorry, Mikey." Jeremy choked out through his hands, still covering his face. "I'm so pathetic." Michael looked up at him with pained eyes, his hand resting on the boy's knee. His best friend hadn't called him Mikey since fifth grade.

"Don't apologize. You're not pathetic." He said quietly, before continuing to wipe his legs. Jeremy's stomach jolted when he reached his inner thigh, and he tried not to tense up. If he noticed, Michael was too nice to say anything about it right now. He finished, standing back up with the rag and Jeremy's clothing. "I'll give you this and some clean clothes, do you think you can go change in the bathroom?" He asked gingerly, wiping his hands on his shorts. "Y-yeah." Jeremy gulped, taking the rag from Michael and heading for the restroom. Michael grabbed one of his t-shirts, a pair of his own boxer's and pajama pants, and took off his own red hoodie, following Jeremy and handing them too him once he was inside. He shut the door and Michael disappeared downstairs to put his clothes in the laundry.

Jeremy couldn't even look at himself in the mirror as he peeled off his boxers, cleaned himself up all the way and started to put on Michael's clothes. They were warm, soft, and dry, and they smelled just like Michael. They were baggy on his skinny frame. Even in his completely wrecked state, it almost made him smile. He finished putting on the hoodie, hugging it tight to his body, before opening the door and finding Michael waiting outside for him. He tried to read the expression on his best friend's face as his eyes swept the borrowed clothes on his body, but it was hard. Michael wordlessly took his boxers from him, running down to drop them in the wash with his other clothes. Jeremy took a shaky breath, lying down on Micheal's bed and relaxing into the mattress, tugging the hoodie even tighter around him. It wasn't long before he heard a door shutting and felt the mattress sink beside him. They laid like that for a few minutes, just listening to each other's breathing. Eventually, Michael broke the silence- a question had been eating at him since Rich's brother had shouted about it in the bathroom. They were both caught off guard when Michael suddenly blurted out,

"Is it true?"

Jeremy gave him a quizzical look through his tired eyes. "I mean, what he said..... about you... uh.... having a crush on me."  
_Oh no._ Jeremy's heart sank as he looked away. He could deny it, lie to his best friend and pretend he didn't care. But deep down he knew it was pointless. So he took one more long, shuddering breath before mumbling "Yeah."  
He waited, for Michael to freeze up beside him, for him to tell him they couldn't be friends anymore, to say that he couldn't do it, to let him down gently-  
Instead, Micheal reached over and grabbed a shaking, pale hand in his own. It fit rather perfectly. Jeremy turned to his best friend, dumbfounded. He was quiet for a moment, staring at the ceiling.

"I like you too."

Jeremy's heart caught in his throat. Too good to be true, too absolutely fucking incredible to be true.

"Really?" He breathed, noticing Michael’s grip on his hand tighten just a little at that. "I've had a crush on you since seventh grade, dumbass." He mumbled. And suddenly, it didn't matter- any of it. He didn't care that he had been beaten senseless and he didn't care if he had failed chem and he didn't care if the whole school though he was pathetic. Michael Mell liked him. And that was all he cared about. Jeremy rolled to face him, ignoring the pain that shot up his arm. Michael rolled too, so that their faces were only inches apart. There was another moment of silence, but this time, Jeremy could feel Michael's breath. Neither boy knew what to say or do, they just knew they wanted to stay like that. Together. For as long as they could. Michael bit his lip before scooting forward and pressing his forehead to Jeremy's, as gently as he could, for just a moment. Everything about this made Jeremy melt- his heart honest to god fluttered in his chest. He was afraid he might whimper if he opened his mouth to speak. _Holy shit, this is real life._ Michael wrapped his arms tentatively around Jeremy and pulled him closer so that their bodies were pressed together.

"I can't believe this is real." Jeremy mumbled, tucking his head under Michael’s chin. He didn't see it but Michael quickly got flustered. "You look good in my hoodie, Y'know." Michael muttered after a moment, a grin slowly spreading across his face. It was Jeremy's turn to get flustered now, burying his face into Michael's chest in embarrassment. Cozy.

There was another beat of silence, and something shifted in Michael's demeanor. His arms tightened around the thin boy in front of him protectively. "I'm not gonna let them hurt you again. You don't know how fucking-" he took a shuddering breath, he could feel himself getting all worked up again. "- how fucking bad I feel. I shoulda been there, Jeremy." He finished with a sigh, staring down at their hands, still intertwined. He barely ever cursed like this. "Don't feel bad. I should've been able to.... fight back. I shouldn't need to be protected like I'm.... like I'm.... weak." He whispered the last bit, feeling shame pooling in his chest. Michael was quiet for a second. "No." He suddenly muttered. "No. You're- you're not weak, Jere." Jeremy sighed, closing his eyes. "Thanks." He whispered, sounding rather unconvinced. "No." Michael repeated, a little louder. He used a firm hand on his chin to tilt Jeremy's head up so that he was looking into his eyes. "Jeremy. You. Aren't. Weak." He said, and his stare was so intense that Jeremy started to believe him.

He just blinked up at him, though, unable to speak. Michael sighed again, bringing his hand up to the cheek of his best friend. _Boyfriend?_ That made his stomach jump. Jeremy practically sagged into the touch, his face heating up. His heart fucking fluttered again, he felt like a little kid. "God, Jeremy," Michael mumbled, voice suddenly gravelly, scanning his face in a way that made Jeremy's pants feel a smidge tighter. "You're really too much for my heart to handle." He finished, his gaze unfaltering. Jeremy had to look down. His stare was glazed as his eyes swept the body in front of him, at the soft clothes and strong arms and warm hands he knew so well. And now he could finally touch them. Like he'd longed to for months.

He took one of Michael's hands in both of his own, looking down and fidgeting with it, before interlocking their fingers slowly. He noticed how Michael's hands were a little rough on the fingertips and softer on the palms. Cute. He was good with his hands- he was learning guitar, he was great at video games, he (surprisingly) gave great massages, though Jeremy had only heard this from Christine and Rich. He wondered what else Michael's hands might be good at. There was a tug in his stomach. He couldn't focus on that right now. He couldn't focus on _anything_ right now. Not with Michael's hands and his stare and how _close_ he was. Jeremy could feel his breath. He glanced up at Michael, who was still staring at him, looking deliriously lovesick. That made Jeremy's heart jump in his chest for the millionth time that afternoon. He looked back down at the hand in his own before setting it gently on the mattress, moving to mess with the frayed hem of Michael's faded bob marley t shirt.

He tried to mask the way he kept glancing at Michael's lips, but they both definitely noticed. Maybe that was ok. Michael's hand found the side of his face again, tilting it up, avoiding his black eye. The little electric sparks that shot through his cheek at this gave him a sudden burst of confidence. He pushed up, bringing his face close- so close- to Michael's. They were mere inches apart. And then he faltered. He was scared again all of the sudden- what if Michael didn't want to? what if he thought it was weird? what if he thought Jeremy was a bad kisser, what if-  
Michael closed the distance.

It was soft at first, the kiss- and it was lovely. Every level of lovely and imperfectly sweet. But suddenly Jeremy was kissing harder and this was a new kind of lovely, and everything felt like it was burning with delight. Who knew kissing your best friend could feel so fucking wonderful.

When Michael finally pulled away, he looked so dazed, his mouth hung open and his eyes were wide behind his glasses. Jeremy couldn't help but chuckle at that, despite how flustered he was as well. After another moment of gawking, Michael wrapped his arms back around Jeremy's shoulders with and grinned, pulling him into his chest. Jeremy buried his face into the crook of his neck, wrapping his own arms tightly around the other boy's torso. Everything was cozy and warm and soft and Jeremy practically melted into him, his hair mussed and his stupid grin still prominent.

They fell asleep like that, all tangled up, happy flutters in their stomachs, without even the slightest worry about bullies or chem tests or anything in the world except each other. Two boys, gangly and awkward and nerdy and _absolutely_ in love.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys!! Really hope you enjoyed that! It’s my first ever (attempt) at a bmc fic and my first thing on ao3. I’ve got no clue what I’m doing but it’s fun! Thank you for reading!


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